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Self styled “soldier of fortune” found dead

January 31 2012, 12:01am, The Times

Jonathan "Jack" Idema died at his home in BacalarEmilio Morenatti/AP

A serial fraudster and self-styled “soldier of fortune” who duped Nato into believing that he was leading a top-secret US unit hunting down Osama bin Laden has been found dead in Mexico at the age of 55.

Jonathan “Jack” Idema died at his home in Bacalar reportedly as a result of complications from Aids. He had been wanted by the US authorities for questioning since his release from prison in Kabul in 2007.

Between 2001 and 2004, when he was arrested in Afghanistan, Idema styled himself as the leader of a mysterious American unit called “Task Force Sabre 7” and ran his own prison and torture facility in Kabul with, he claimed, the backing of the CIA.